Post by 3dnayelin on Mar 15, 2015 1:22:14 GMT
I always knew that becoming a vegetarian would help prevent cruelty to animals but I was not aware of the environmental consequences of a meat-eating diet until I took AP Environmental. The production of beef and other animal protein consumes huge amounts of natural resources such as water, fossil fuels and topsoil, while polluting our water and air. In fact, switching to a no-meat diet from a meat-eating diet is the single most important move I can make to help the environment. It is much more effective than turning off the water when I brush my teeth or recycling and reusing.
One of the biggest environmental impacts of a meat-eating diet is the depletion of natural resources, particularly the consumption of vast amounts of water for livestock production. Today, there are more than 17 billion livestock in the world; that’s about triple the number of people. Raising these animals requires huge amounts of water, most of it used to irrigate the grains and hay fed to the animals. According to the Water Education Foundation, it takes 2,464 gallons of water to produce one pound of beef in California. This is the same amount of water you would use if you took a seven-minute shower every day for six entire months. In contrast, only 25 gallons of water are needed to produce one pound of wheat. Present human water consumption drains aquifers around the world. Water tables are dropping drastically and wells are going dry. 40 percent of fresh water used in the U.S. in 2000 went to irrigate feed crops for livestock. Only 13 percent was used for domestic purposes including showers, flushing toilets, washing cars and watering lawns. Switching to a plant-based diet or reducing the amount of meat in your diet is by far the most important choice you can make to save water.
Raising livestock depletes other natural resources as well, including fossil fuels and topsoil. Aside from the cost of grains used to feed livestock you can also measure the cost of fossil fuel energy. Agricultural production uses ten percent of the energy used every year in the United States.
Topsoil is another vital natural resource being used faster than nature can replace it. The production of corn and soybeans, the major grains fed to livestock, causes massive soil erosion because those crops are grown in rows. The bare patches between the rows expose the topsoil to both wind and rain erosion. It has been calculated that in Iowa one half of the topsoil has been lost due to farming over the past 100 years. It is estimated that we lose nearly 7 billion tons of topsoil every year.
Additional impacts on the environment from a meat-eating diet are the pollution of our water and air. All of the livestock being raised throughout the world produce enormous amounts of manure and urine, which in turn pollute natural resources. Animal waste changes the pH of our water, contaminates our air; and the gases emitted are believed to be a major cause of global warming. To keep costs down, the modern animal farming practice is to raise livestock in feedlots and factory farms where thousands or tens of thousands of animals are crowded into small spaces. However, this makes the animal waste problem worse because of concentrated waste. Livestock in the U.S. produce 2.7 trillion pounds of manure each year. That’s about ten times more waste than was produced by all the American people.
The waste from factory farms gives off many harmful gases such as ammonia, methane and hydrogen sulfide, as well as clouds of dust and particles, which pollute our air. Since these farms are so large and often use huge manure lagoons the most obvious pollution is the horrible smell, which affects communities nearest the farms. The bad smell is the least of the dangers to the environment. In the U.S., animal farms are responsible for 73% of the ammonia released into the air. The ammonia can react with other gases in the air and cause respiratory problems and contribute to smog and acid rain. The particulate matter created from animal agriculture can also cause respiratory problems and can form a brown cloud effect that used to be found only near large industrialized cities.
So overall I learned that not only does being a vegetarian help animals but also the environment.
One of the biggest environmental impacts of a meat-eating diet is the depletion of natural resources, particularly the consumption of vast amounts of water for livestock production. Today, there are more than 17 billion livestock in the world; that’s about triple the number of people. Raising these animals requires huge amounts of water, most of it used to irrigate the grains and hay fed to the animals. According to the Water Education Foundation, it takes 2,464 gallons of water to produce one pound of beef in California. This is the same amount of water you would use if you took a seven-minute shower every day for six entire months. In contrast, only 25 gallons of water are needed to produce one pound of wheat. Present human water consumption drains aquifers around the world. Water tables are dropping drastically and wells are going dry. 40 percent of fresh water used in the U.S. in 2000 went to irrigate feed crops for livestock. Only 13 percent was used for domestic purposes including showers, flushing toilets, washing cars and watering lawns. Switching to a plant-based diet or reducing the amount of meat in your diet is by far the most important choice you can make to save water.
Raising livestock depletes other natural resources as well, including fossil fuels and topsoil. Aside from the cost of grains used to feed livestock you can also measure the cost of fossil fuel energy. Agricultural production uses ten percent of the energy used every year in the United States.
Topsoil is another vital natural resource being used faster than nature can replace it. The production of corn and soybeans, the major grains fed to livestock, causes massive soil erosion because those crops are grown in rows. The bare patches between the rows expose the topsoil to both wind and rain erosion. It has been calculated that in Iowa one half of the topsoil has been lost due to farming over the past 100 years. It is estimated that we lose nearly 7 billion tons of topsoil every year.
Additional impacts on the environment from a meat-eating diet are the pollution of our water and air. All of the livestock being raised throughout the world produce enormous amounts of manure and urine, which in turn pollute natural resources. Animal waste changes the pH of our water, contaminates our air; and the gases emitted are believed to be a major cause of global warming. To keep costs down, the modern animal farming practice is to raise livestock in feedlots and factory farms where thousands or tens of thousands of animals are crowded into small spaces. However, this makes the animal waste problem worse because of concentrated waste. Livestock in the U.S. produce 2.7 trillion pounds of manure each year. That’s about ten times more waste than was produced by all the American people.
The waste from factory farms gives off many harmful gases such as ammonia, methane and hydrogen sulfide, as well as clouds of dust and particles, which pollute our air. Since these farms are so large and often use huge manure lagoons the most obvious pollution is the horrible smell, which affects communities nearest the farms. The bad smell is the least of the dangers to the environment. In the U.S., animal farms are responsible for 73% of the ammonia released into the air. The ammonia can react with other gases in the air and cause respiratory problems and contribute to smog and acid rain. The particulate matter created from animal agriculture can also cause respiratory problems and can form a brown cloud effect that used to be found only near large industrialized cities.
So overall I learned that not only does being a vegetarian help animals but also the environment.